Bangladesh Supreme Court Bans Toxic Ships

Monday, Bangladesh's Supreme Court ruled to reinstate strict environmental controls on the country's ship-breaking yards.

An estimated one third of all ships worldwide are sent to Bangladesh to be dismantled on the country’s southeast coast. Workers at these yards and people living in the area are exposed to toxic chemicals and dangerous work conditions.

In January of this year the same court imposed regulations that all ships scrapped be certified toxic-free by the selling nation's environmental authorities, however the government was forced to abandon the law in April after months of strikes by shipyards.

Yesterday the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association was able to get those regulations reinstated, and the ship breaking industry will not be able to appeal the ruling for four months.

The Bangladesh ship-breaking industry is the worlds largest and regulations like this have a major impact. In the beginning of this year when the environmental regulations were first imposed iron prices shot up 20 percent while the breaking yards shut to protest against the law.

This latest court ruling could bring an end to the ship-breaking industry in Bangladesh, which employs thousands, be it many for just a $1 a day.

Ships sent to Bangladesh frequently contain asbestos, which could easily be removed in specialty yards in Europe and America, however this would significantly raise the costs of dismantling the ship.

Minimal safety and environmental standards lead to an average of 50 deaths a year.

Photo courtesy of AFP